63. In So Many Other Ways

" W ell, that's an unexpected connection, but…I bet you're feeling pretty happy right now."

At the words, Foxx glanced up at Harlow, who had moved quietly to his side while they'd watched the ambulance drive off.

The connection had been unexpected, but… He smiled wide and giggled. "Yes, I'm happy. Even if I am, at the same time, incredibly angry that someone who had already suffered so much had to deal with more bullshit. What shitty luck. What are the odds…?"

Harlow's arm came around his waist. "I don't know, I think her luck is excellent. How else could she end up at death's door, and yet manage to be found by the one person who is willing to do all he can to save her and keep her going, not once, but twice?"

Foxx hummed. "That's one way to look at it." His smile widening, he said, "Come on, let's get back to looking!"

They took off again, wandering aimlessly. Foxx, honestly, wasn't sure that Cindy ending on death's door twice could be seen as lucky, but the fact was…she hadn't just ended up there…she had passed the threshold.

Cindy…had died that day. It was why he remembered her face. She had been one of the ones he'd felt slip away, as he laid there close to passing out.

Really, her luck wasn't about him being there, but the fact that Foxx had a partner who was willing to do anything to find him. She survived because Harlow and his team had shown up in time to bring her back. Foxx…just hadn't realized they had brought her back.

But he wasn't her luck. Her luck was that Foxx was lucky enough to be claimed by a psycho. And that, that same psycho was apparently a little bit of a klepto, who had no qualms about siphoning blood from a dead body. Because Foxx wasn't sure if they'd have gotten away with what they had done if they had needed to bring the body back with them. Likely, they would have been noticed.

Huh, maybe lady luck was actually a six-foot four psycho with sticky fingers?

Shaking the silly thought away and smiling even wider than before, he slid his arm through Harlow's. As they continued to stroll, he asked, "What do you think Maverick will do next?"

"It's…possible he will release all the poison he has at once." Foxx started to frown at the man's words, until Harlow added, "But, then again, I don't think he will."

"Why not? Releasing it would likely cause chaos and a lot of death, and would lead to even more in the aftermath."

"He wants humans to turn on paranormals."

"Us, you mean," Foxx corrected.

"Yes, us. To turn on us paranormals. But releasing it now, after people know what is happening…would just paint him and his group as villains."

"With what has happened, how aren't they already??"

Harlow snorted. "His thinking doesn't have to be perfectly logical to make sense. He claimed before that all they had done was strip down the mask of civility that we hide behind."

"Ah," Foxx sighed. "I see what you are saying. Knowing the herd mentality of some humans, he knew that many would believe that this was just who vampires and werewolves were, without questioning further. But revealing that it's a poison, something involuntary on the paranormals part, and something that can be counteracted, would prevent that lie from standing."

"Pretty much."

"But," Foxx huffed, "That would always be the case, wouldn't it? Like, there is no way that lie would have stood."

"Yeah, but I'm guessing he hoped that by the time it was revealed, the relationship between humans and paranormals would be irreversibly damaged. If you think about it, things were on their way there. Just with the first incident, some humans had begun to side-eye the paranormals around them."

"True…" Foxx sighed as the face of the older news reporter as he looked at his co-host flashed into his mind. One incident was all it had taken to cast doubt.

As the call came in that all threats were gone, Harlow wasn't surprised. He figured, after barely saving the woman an hour ago, by now, the rest would be dead. Though, he assumed whatever werewolves had been infected, and not found, had probably died an hour before they'd even found the last vampire.

Harlow did have to say that Tony was being a bit long-winded with his fucking speech. Had there really been a reason to tell them the number of injuries and deaths? It had been three minutes already. Fucking hell… It would be nice to get off the streets BEFORE the sun rose.

"That ends the full report of this escapade. At this time, we believe that all infected have either been neutralized or have died as a result of the poison," Tony said over the line. "Not just here, but countrywide. While clean up crews will continue to search for any dead, hunters go ahead and pat yourselves on the back, because you made it through this thing. At this time, all of you should return to your respected Guilds. Feel free to take your time on the way back."

As the fucker finished up, Foxx did a little happy dance, giggling. "We did it!" The vampire spun around, before flipping off the sky, yelling, "Fuck you, Maverick, you bigoted ass wank!"

Smirking and shaking his head, he strolled past the man, down the neon sign lit alleyway.

His vampire was…very cute. Cute and mine, he thought. All mine.

Harlow grunted as the vampire's full weight hit his back. He automatically grabbed onto Foxx's legs when they came around him. Giggling like crazy, the man started singing, "We did it, we did it," as he wrapped his arms around his neck.

Harlow snorted. "Yes. Yes, we did it, brat. Is there a reason you're on my back?"

"Yes! Because I want to be!" the vampire said while he continued to giggle. "Oh! We should take a picture!"

"Why?" He glanced at him over his shoulder.

"Because it's our first piggyback ride as a couple!" Foxx laughed. "Well, first ever, actually. Take a picture!"

"My hands are busy," he said with a smug smile.

Well…that and he…also…hadn't actually used the camera on his phone yet… So, he wasn't positive he knew how to use it…

Foxx huffed. "Fine! I'll take it. Where's your phone? Mine is squished between us."

"Inner zipped pocket, upper middle right."

Harlow stood there blank faced as Foxx felt around inside his jacket. "Not there," he said, when the man started to unzip a pocket that he knew was full of various powders, including the ash they used to burn shit. The vampire's hand moved on, to the wrong pocket again. "Nope, not that one either."

He ended up having to say ‘not that one' three more times before Foxx finally found his phone.

"You have too many pockets," Foxx grumbled as he pulled Harlow's cell phone free.

He grunted in response.

"Okay, here we go," Foxx chimed, while holding out the phone. "Smile!"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

Harlow sighed and faked a smile.

Foxx's smile turned into a glare. "Harlow, I want a REAL smile, not a fake one!"

"Such a demanding brat," he chuckled.

Harlow felt a bit of trepidation as the man's glare turned into a sweet smile.

"Smile for real, or be prepared to REALLY hate the next thing I embroider onto your clothes."

Yep…that's definitely a threat he wanted to avoid.

"Brat," he sighed, but despite the threat, he smiled for real this time.

Foxx's smile turned blinding as the vampire took the picture.

"Yay!"

"Happy?" he asked with a smirk, glancing back.

"Yes!" Foxx beamed while he slipped the phone back into his pocket… Harlow, feeling nice, didn't even point out it was the wrong one. He had to be nice to what was his… And Foxx was his. All his… And what was his…should be in his home, shouldn't it?

Without hesitation, he said, "Move in with me."

"What?" The vampire blinked, frowning. "Move in…with you…where, Harlow? We live in the same apartment."

"Let me rephrase… Build a house with me and then move in with me."

Foxx's eyes widened. "You…want to build a house with me?"

"Mm, I got the insurance money back, and I've been looking at plots of land in the Inner Village. I've found a few that I think will be large enough, with enough coverage that once some measures are put into place, my paranoia, safety wise, shouldn't be triggered."

"How..." Foxx started slowly. "How long have you been planning, or rather, thinking about this?"

Questions…were good, right? Better than an outright no.

Foxx stared at the man's blank expression as he waited for an answer to his question, trying not to show what he was feeling on his face. Meanwhile, his mind was screaming, HARLOW WANTS TO BUILD A HOUSE WITH ME?!

This was… How was he supposed to function with this information?! Harlow was the first boyfriend he'd even lived with, and that was only because the man's house had been blown up! The rest had either broken up with him or died before that happened.

Okay…most of them had died…after he killed them. But like, that wasn't his fault, they attacked first.

Harlow cleared his throat. "Well…I first had the thought…that day I was kidnapped."

Foxx's eyes widened. The dhampir…had the thought that early? "You…thought about building a house with me only a few days after we started dating? You've…been thinking about it for almost two months?"

"I mean…you're mine… Nothing will change that. I knew with the insurance money coming in, the question of me living with you would come up… And…with you being mine, I mean, I won't live separate from you, so…"

Foxx's heart fluttered.

It wasn't a declaration of love, of him not being able to live without him…yet...it was somehow so much sweeter. Why be with someone who couldn't live without him when he could be with someone who wouldn't live without him? Why be with someone who would poetically cry words of love…when he could have someone who'd burn the world down to keep him alive?

No declaration of love would probably ever come, but…Foxx realized he didn't need one. Harlow had proven how deeply he cared in so many other ways, with so many other words, and actions that…

Who cared if the man never said those three little words?! He had heard those three words before, and not a single one of the men who said them had meant it. Yet, Foxx knew, as confused and inexperienced as Harlow was with love…the man would never say them unless he was damn sure he meant them. The dhampir did all he could to show him that he cared regardless, and part of that was making sure he didn't lie to Foxx with the words he gave him. And while he'd been worried before if it would be enough, he knew now that not only was it enough, it was more than—it was better.

Smiling, Foxx leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the man's lips. His face just inches from Harlow's, he said, "Yes."

A wide smirk spread across the dhampir's face. "Yes? You'll move in with me?"

"Yes!" He giggled. "I'll build a house and move in with you!"

The dhampir's smirk somehow widened further as he nipped at his bottom lip.

"Love you," Foxx beamed.

"Mine," Harlow growled, nipping at his lip again, before bouncing him on his back with a chuckle.

"Harlow!" He said with a startled laugh as he wrapped his arms more tightly around the man's neck.

"Come, brat, let's get back to my Jeep… Preferably before the sun comes up."

Eyeing the sky, which had already lightened quite a bit, he mused, "I suppose it is time to head back." Pointing forward, he chimed, "Let's go!"

"You're not planning to walk at all, are you?"

"NOPE!" He giggled, ordering him, "Let's go, let's go!!"

"Brat," the man grunted, but instead of trying to get him off his back, the dhampir just started walking.